Grildon Tundy
Gold Member
Why RTTP? - Because Alien is great. I recently watched the Alien quadrilogy through for the first time, and was hungry for more not-Prometheus/Covenant Alien content, so I pulled this out of the old Steam library and gave it another go.
Overview - Slow-burn horror with generational trauma before A24 made it a business model. Originally released by Creative Assembly and SEGA nearly ten years ago in 2014 as a seventh/eighth console generation cross-gen title, Alien: Isolation is a survival-horror immersive sim taking place in the Alien film series universe. You play as Amanda Ripley as she faces the same threat her mother did in 1979's Alien.
The closest comparison in games might be the Amnesia series; Alien: Isolation seemed to take inspiration from Amnesia: The Dark Descent, and Amnesia: The Bunker seems to have drawn inspiration from A:I. Time is a flat circle; game recognizes game.
Graphics - Still impressive 10 years on. Shrouded in darkness, dripping (sometimes literally) with atmospheric smoke/sparks/fire/alien spit, and sticking to (mostly) inorganic settings which can be more easily approximated than natural environments, the graphics hold up incredibly well--especially in 4K 120fps on PC. Dated textures are there if you look for them, but they're not readily apparent when taking in scenes as a whole. I mean, just look at this:
Playability - Alien: Isolation: Nemesis: The Bunker. I'll keep this general, since I'm guessing most are familiar with the game and its unique alien AI system. Like most immersive sims, this game gets better the more times I play it. Having the alien drop in the room right in front of me still freaks me out, but once I stopped playing hide-and-seek and started playing clench-and-react-proactively, the game really opened up, and I felt like I was playing how Creative Assembly intended. While that diminishes the horror that was inherent in my first playthrough, it just makes Alien: Isolation's craft shine even more today.
Sound Design - Best-in-Class. The Sevastopol hums while the alien crawls in the vents above you, fire sprays from a burst pipe, a save station beeps like a siren's song, and the red-eyed Working Joes' corporate slogans menace in their new context. Tense up as the score and diagetic sounds intentionally mimic the alien's cries to keep you on high alert. All the sounds have their place and create a cohesive whole. Play with headphones.
Giving It a Number - An imperfect 9-out-of-10. Some games are interesting and worth playing but very flawed and land at a 7-out-of-10. I'm thinking of Alpha Protocol. With this game, you have Creative Assembly having never made a first-person survival horror bringing a fresh and incredibly polished take on the genre. There's an achieved artistic vision throughout, one quite unlike any other game. Why not a 10? Pacing does become a problem, and this is a rare (non-open world) game that would be better if it were trimmed down a little. Excising the entire Marlowe subplot would've gone a long way in that regard.
Regardless, this is a treasure of a game that's gotten better every time I've played it, and I can't wait to play it again down the line to see how it flowers even more.
If you've played it, I'd like to hear your thoughts. If you haven't and you're interested, Epic has given it away for free multiple times, and it's often on sale for ~$5.
I just love this series and game so much that I wanted to get my thoughts out. If you read this whole thing, I thank you.
Overview - Slow-burn horror with generational trauma before A24 made it a business model. Originally released by Creative Assembly and SEGA nearly ten years ago in 2014 as a seventh/eighth console generation cross-gen title, Alien: Isolation is a survival-horror immersive sim taking place in the Alien film series universe. You play as Amanda Ripley as she faces the same threat her mother did in 1979's Alien.
The closest comparison in games might be the Amnesia series; Alien: Isolation seemed to take inspiration from Amnesia: The Dark Descent, and Amnesia: The Bunker seems to have drawn inspiration from A:I. Time is a flat circle; game recognizes game.
Graphics - Still impressive 10 years on. Shrouded in darkness, dripping (sometimes literally) with atmospheric smoke/sparks/fire/alien spit, and sticking to (mostly) inorganic settings which can be more easily approximated than natural environments, the graphics hold up incredibly well--especially in 4K 120fps on PC. Dated textures are there if you look for them, but they're not readily apparent when taking in scenes as a whole. I mean, just look at this:
Playability - Alien: Isolation: Nemesis: The Bunker. I'll keep this general, since I'm guessing most are familiar with the game and its unique alien AI system. Like most immersive sims, this game gets better the more times I play it. Having the alien drop in the room right in front of me still freaks me out, but once I stopped playing hide-and-seek and started playing clench-and-react-proactively, the game really opened up, and I felt like I was playing how Creative Assembly intended. While that diminishes the horror that was inherent in my first playthrough, it just makes Alien: Isolation's craft shine even more today.
Sound Design - Best-in-Class. The Sevastopol hums while the alien crawls in the vents above you, fire sprays from a burst pipe, a save station beeps like a siren's song, and the red-eyed Working Joes' corporate slogans menace in their new context. Tense up as the score and diagetic sounds intentionally mimic the alien's cries to keep you on high alert. All the sounds have their place and create a cohesive whole. Play with headphones.
Giving It a Number - An imperfect 9-out-of-10. Some games are interesting and worth playing but very flawed and land at a 7-out-of-10. I'm thinking of Alpha Protocol. With this game, you have Creative Assembly having never made a first-person survival horror bringing a fresh and incredibly polished take on the genre. There's an achieved artistic vision throughout, one quite unlike any other game. Why not a 10? Pacing does become a problem, and this is a rare (non-open world) game that would be better if it were trimmed down a little. Excising the entire Marlowe subplot would've gone a long way in that regard.
Regardless, this is a treasure of a game that's gotten better every time I've played it, and I can't wait to play it again down the line to see how it flowers even more.
If you've played it, I'd like to hear your thoughts. If you haven't and you're interested, Epic has given it away for free multiple times, and it's often on sale for ~$5.
I just love this series and game so much that I wanted to get my thoughts out. If you read this whole thing, I thank you.
